Container



Dec. 28, 1943. H. sl-:BELL 2,337,587'

ONTAINER Filed Jan. 12, 1942 2 sheetsQsh'et 1 lnvenTOT.

Harry Sebell by m MMM ATTys.

Dec. 28, 1943. H, SEBELL 2,337,687

I CONTAINER Filed Jan. 12, 19212 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y lnvenToT. n Hurry Sebe'l Y by l' U fm s' Patented Dec. 28, 1943 CONTAINER Harry Schell, Marblehead, Mass., assigner of onehaif to Arthur H. Parker, Lexington, Mass.

rlppiication January 12, 1942, Serial No. 426,445

(Cl. B-48) 1 Claim.

This invention relates to containers and especially to that type of container in which the body or side walls are made of paper, cardboard, fibre, or some similar non-metallic material while the end members are made of sheet metal.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a novel means for opening a container of this type by cutting the paper or fibre side wall directly below the lock seam by which the top end member is secured to Ithe upper edge of the side wall.

In order to give an understanding of the invention, I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side view of a container embodying my invention with the upper portion broken out to better show the construction.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View through the upper end of the container embodying the invention illustrating the cutter in its operative position.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showin-g the container after it has been opened so as to provide a hinge connection for the cover or end member.

Fig. 5 is a top-plan view with part broken out to illustrate the operation of the cutter.

The co-ntainer illustrated and which embodies my invention is indicated generally at I. The body portion or side walls 2 of the container are made of paper, fibre, cardboard or some similar non-metallic material. The two end members, one of which is shown at 3, are preferably made of sheet metal and are shown as being secured to the body member by means of the lock seams indicatedv at 4 vand 25. These lock seams are formed in usual manner by rolling tightly together two mating seaming flanges, one on the peripheral edge of the end member and the other on the body member, this being a common way of uniting the end member of a container to the side walls in order to hermetically seal the container.

In the construction herein shown, the body of the container is provided on its interior adjacent its end with a reinforcing ring 5 which may be of paper or bre or any other similar material and which is adhesively united to the inner face of the wall 2 of the body member.

The upper edge of the reinforcing ring 5 is shown as rolled over to ior'm a bead B and the end member 3 is formed with a depending circular wall 'I which fits within the bead 6 with a friction t. 'I'his end member 3 is also shown as having a horizontal annular portion or zone 8 circumjacent said wall 1. on the outside thereof, which portion 8 rests on the bead 6.

This manner of forming the end member and securing it to the body member provides a her'- metic seal for the container notwithstanding the fact that the wall 2 is made of paper or fibre or some other non-metallic material, and a container of this type is well adapted for packaging coffee, cocoa and various other similar food products.

My present invention relates particularly to an improved means for opening the container by cutting the side wall immediately below the lock seam 4.

Pivotally mounted on the end member 3 centrally thereof is a container-opening member 9 which is herein shown as formed from a resilient or spring wire. The inner end of this wire is provided with a loop Ill which encircles and is pivotally mounted on-a boss or projection 2l with which the can end 3 is provided, said projection being located centrally of the can end. The member 9 is shaped to present the upwardly directed portion II, the horizontally extending portion I2, the downwardly directed portion I 3 and the inwardly directed cutting edge I4 which extends inwardly from the lower end of the portion I3. The horizontal portion I2 is preferably given a somewhat angular shape as shown best in Fig. 2 and the member is so constructed that normally the downwardly directed portion I3 will be situated directly inside of the inside shoulder or face I5 of the bead 4 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

When it is desired to open the container, the operator will grasp the portion I2 of the container-opening member 9 and lift the latter sufiiciently to bring the cutter I4 above the bead 4. The end portion I3 of the element is then swung outwardly suiciently to carry the cutting edge I4 over and beyond the bead 4 and the outer end of the device is then lowered to bring the cutter portion I4 below the bead l as shown in Fig. 3.

This manipulation of the member 9 can be readily accomplished 'because of the resilient nature of the body portion thereof. When the container-opening member is in the operative position shown in Fig. 3, then the operator swings the member 9 about its pivotal connection 2i thereby carrying the cutting edge I4 around the wall 2 of the container, during which operation said cutting edge will cut through the nare M bre wall thus severing the end member 3 from the body member l. The resiliency of the container-opening member 9 causes the cutting edge I4 to bear against the exterior wall of the body with considerable pressure and this pressure may be increased by the operator if it is necessary to effectively cut through the wall 2 of the container.

If in opening the container it is desired to entirely sever the end member 3 from the side wall 2, then the cutting edge ill may be carried completely around the container.

On the other hand, if it is desired to open the container, in such a way that when it is opened, the end member 3 will still be hingeclly attached to the wall 2, then the cutting edge Ill will be swung nearly but not entirely around the container thereby leaving a short section of the container wall uncut, which section will function as a hinge about which the member 3 may be swung in opening and closing the container. To assist in providing this hinge member, I may imprint on the end member 3, two index lines shown at I6 and I1 one of which may be designated by the word Start and the other by the word ustopga In opening a container to provide the hinge for the end member, the operator will swing the container-opening member 9 into a position to register with the Start indication mark and then will lift the free end or said member S over the bead 4 into the position shown in Fig. 3, after which he will swing the member S around in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2 until it registers with the index mark IT which is designated Stop, after which the cutting edge of the member 9 will be returned to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

By manipulating the container-opening member in this way, the cut 22 formed in the wall of the container body by the knife I4 will extend nearly, but not quite around the container, thereby leaving a short uncut portion I8 to function as a hinge as shown in Fig. 4.

The boss or projection 2| to which the inner end of the member 9 is pivoted may be provided for in various ways. As herein shown, a cupshaped member is welded or otherwise permanently secured to the end member 3, said cupshaped member having the flange I9 which overlies the loop it and retains the member 9 in place.

The container-opening member 9 is preferably so designed that when it is in its operative cutting position. with the portion I2 resting on the lock seam 4, the cutting edge I4 will be located immediately below the under face of the annular portion of the end member so that the paper wall 2 will be cut between said horizontal portion 8 and the bead 8.

After the container has been opened, the end member constitutes a replaceable cover which may be used for closing the container again and because of the tight friction t between the wall i of the container and the bead 6, the opened container with the cover replaced thereon will be tightly sealed.

I claim:

A container having a body portion of paper or like material, a sheet metal end member secured to the body portion with a lock seam, and a container-opening member pivotally secured to the end member centrally thereof, said container-opening member being made of resilient material and having its outer end bent upwardly and then laterally and then downwardly and also having an inwardly directed cutting portion normally occupying a position. inside the lock seam, the resiliency of said container-opening member permitting said cutting portion to be positioned outside and directly below the lock seam whereby swinging movement of said container-opening member about its pivot will cause the cutting member to cut through the wall of the container.

HARRY SEBELL. 

